“The First Emperor” is sealed like a stubborn oyster
I saw the Met Opera “The First Emperor”, about the first emperor of China, Qin, over the weekend - and, with the disclaimer that I am no opera expert, I must say the the overall feeling was one of disappointment. Not at the sets, which were fantastic, but at the singers themselves. Placido Domingo, the famous opera star’s voice seemed strained and low-key. He was not helped by lyrics that were full of strange similes and metaphors. The emperor’s daughter complains that the lips of her future lover, Jianli, are sealed like a stubborn oyster. And so it goes.
The daughter, played by soprano, Sarah Coburn, however, had a wonderful, soaring voice. The moment in the opera when she exclaims “I can walk”, after she is miraculously healed, pierces one, as her voice trembles with excitement and breathlessness.
The other aspect of the opera I liked was a large bell on the side which was bonged periodically in an Asian style to cue off the other instruments, each bong reverberating through the audience and registering the uniquely Asian and eternal aspects of spiritual percussion.